Americas

CPJ writes to U.S. Vice-President-elect Mike Pence to request a meeting with the incoming administration to discuss recommendations for preserving First Amendment values in the United States and press freedom around the world, and to discuss the deteriorating climate for journalism in the United States during the presidential elections and since. CPJ flags its concerns regarding President-elect Donald Trump's contributions to a threatening climate for journalists during the campaign.

November 30, 2016--The Committee to Protect Journalists urged authorities today to ensure the safety of journalists working at the Tijuana-based weekly Zeta. The Mexican magazine is currently under police protection after authorities learned of a plot by a cartel to attack the office.

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New York, November 29, 2016--Authorities in Panama should immediately release Dutch journalist Okke Ornstein, who has been detained since November 15, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ornstein, a Panama-based journalist who runs the news website Bananama Republic, was arrested in relation to a 2012 criminal defamation conviction when he arrived at Panama City international airport, according to his lawyer, Manuel Succari.

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New York, November 15, 2016--An Ecuadoran judge last night approved an arrest warrant for journalist Fernando Villavicencio on charges of distributing emails sent by public officials, according to the journalist's lawyer. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities to revoke the warrant.

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New York, November 11, 2016--Four masked men attacked freelance photojournalist Kyle Ludowitz yesterday as he photographed protesters looting and vandalizing businesses in the U.S. city of Oakland, California, the journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Ludowitz was treated for a broken cheekbone following the incident, he said.

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Note to our readers: CPJ plans to intensify our documentation of press freedom violations in the United States, following the election on November 8, 2016, of Donald Trump as president. During his campaign, Trump verbally attacked journalists, restricted access, threatened lawsuits, and promised to make legal action against the media easier under his administration.

A Salvador court sentenced Brazilian journalist Aguirre Talento to six months and six days in jail for criminal defamation on October 31, 2016, reduced to community service and a fine, according to the journalist and his lawyer. The case was the second of three separate defamation cases filed the same day over a 2010 story written by Talento and published in the newspaper, A Tarde, in the northeastern state of Bahia, according to reports.

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Mexico City, November 4, 2016­--The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today over proposed changes to Mexico's media regulations that could force the press to publish or broadcast more replies to news stories. The changes are due to be voted on by the country's Supreme Court November 7.

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New York, October 31, 2016--Montreal police have been tracking an iPhone belonging to La Presse reporter Patrick Lagacé since the beginning of the year, the journalist's paper reported today. Canadian courts authorized 24 warrants to surveil Lagacé's phone, according to court documents obtained by the French-language Montreal daily. The warrants allowed police to access the journalist's call register and track him by activating a GPS monitor on his phone, according to reports.